New courses and possibilities for social movements studies

Abstract

Since the late 1960s, there has been a renewed academic interest in the studies of social mo­vements. Despite their common empirical roots, the schools that emerged in Europe and the United States were completely different, and, unfortunately, for more than a decade there was little cross fertilization between these schools. In the late 1980s, Latin American scholars en­gaged in social movement research, but were unable to bridge the gap between the existing paradigms. Rather they adopted some concepts of the European literature and neglected the strengths of the American models o f social movements. The recent literature in Latin Ameri­ca, Europe, and in the United States, however, points to an integration of these approaches, which apparently has been reinvigorating this field o f studies. Research on Latin America may help bridge the gaps that still remain in the literature, particularly those concerning the rela­tionship between the state and social movements.